(1) Field of the Invention                This invention relates to systems and processes for transmission or reception of radio wave energy for obtaining or utilizing information (using radio wave transmitters or receivers), as to an object. It also relates to using transponders for navigation, and to data processing using GPS.        
(2) Description of the Related Art                U.S. Pat. No. 4,071,845 discloses a harbor radio navigation system wherein harbor buoys transmit identification signals, each on a unique carrier frequency which identifies that particular buoy. Each buoy is shown on a harbor chart. This patent discloses nothing about how to locate and track the paths of the ships.        U.S. Pat. No. 4,590,569 discloses a navigation system including an integrated electronic chart display. The system uses an on-board Loran or Decca apparatus and an on-board object detecting equipment such as a radar or sonar apparatus. The system further includes an on-board vessel position computer which operates in response to observed Loran time differences, stored data from an initial calibration, and Loran grid offset data from an on-shore monitor system to compute a current or present position fix in longitude and latitude whereupon the computer causes a predetermined electronic chart to be displayed, being generated from a plurality of electronic charts stored in the form of digital files in memory. The selected chart, together with the present position of the ship, is displayed along with pre-selected alpha-numeric indicia of data relating to bearings, way points, ranges, “time to go”, etc., also generated in accordance with the computed vessel position. Radar target returns of the local land mass and other stationary moving targets are additionally received by the ship's radar, and the radar image of the target echoes is next referenced to and superimposed on the electronic chart. However, this patent is concerned with strictly collection and display of data on-board a ship, but discloses nothing about the collection and display of data for onshore computers.        U.S. Pat. No. 5,404,135 discloses a sea navigation control process. The ships are equipped to transmit data about their speed, heading and position, which are displayed on a panoramic screen fitted on all ships and in the control center. The control center has priority access to this common channel to send general interest messages or special messages to all or some of the equipped ships. However, this patent does not disclose anything about 1) coordinating available pilots with ships that they are licensed to pilot, and 2) coordinating available docks with ships that need to be docked, and that can be serviced properly at the available docks.        U.S. Pat. No. 6,249,241 discloses a marine vessel traffic system that includes a radar harbor surveillance sensor, and a computer and display system that monitors marine harbor traffic, provides advisories to vessels in areas selected by the system operators, and provides the operators of the system with an early warning of unacceptable traffic conflicts in the harbor. It documents incidents and traffic conditions for the Coast Guard or other waterway authorities, but does not disclose giving selective access to any of this information to selected civilians onshore who have an interest in selected vessels.        U.S. Pat. No. 6,611,757 discloses a global positioning system (“GPS”) tag system that uses a combination of GPS signals from GPS satellites, and RF samples of the GPS signals, to determine the position of an object. This patent also mentions that the U.S. Coast Guard “has addressed the need for situational awareness on the waterways through the Ports and Waterways Safety System (PAWSS), Vessel Traffic Services (VTS), and the Automated Identification System (“AIS”) transponder. Any AIS equipped vessel returns identification, location, course and speed data through the VTS to the Vessel Traffic Center (VTC) which displays the waterway traffic situation.” However, this patent does not disclose using the AIS transponder as part of a system to give selective access to the location, size, and speed of a selected vessel to selected civilians onshore who have an interest in the selected vessel.        